


the opposite of a problem

by kakkoweeb



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Anniversary, Future Fic, M/M, Married EnnoTanas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 10:16:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13211664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kakkoweeb/pseuds/kakkoweeb
Summary: Ryu's current concern: he doesn't know what to do for his and Chikara's first wedding anniversary.Chikara's current concern: he can't seem to pick just one favourite thing about his husband, Ryu.





	the opposite of a problem

**Author's Note:**

> this is my piece for the [ennotana zine](https://ennotanazine.tumblr.com/), free and digital and found in this [google drive](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B0l4TEBHeCDeNjY1eUpCcHE3Rk0)! thank you so much to the admin for allowing me to be a part of it, and @ all other contributors: i am so honoured to have my work in the book with you talented people!!! 
> 
> download the thing, folks, and embrace and spread the ennotana love!

Two weeks before the very special day, Ryuunosuke is in a panic.

Why, you ask? Because that very special day isn’t just any very special day. It’s _the_ very special day, the day of all days, the one true day: it’s his and Chikara’s wedding anniversary. The first of its kind, in fact, and he’s excited to no end but at the same time he has absolutely no idea what he might do, no idea what fancy dinner or fancy boat ride is going to be fancy _enough_ to even _begin_ to cover how grateful he is that he’s reached this point with the most amazing man in the universe.

So naturally, he calls Hisashi.

“Oh, it’s that time already? Congratulations!” is what he says when Ryu has finished with his introductory rant.

“Thanks, but did you not hear literally everything else I said? It’s in two weeks and my naturally-romantic soul is coming up blank!”

“Well, maybe if you start thinking with your brain instead of your soul, it’ll go better.”

“Dude.”

“Okay, okay, I apologize for the sass,” Hisashi says. “But seriously, you need to relax. I’m sure Chikara’s gonna worship you no matter what you think to do. It’s just the paper anniversary, anyway, nothing too big yet.”

“No way! I’m never gonna half-ass anything I do for him just because he’ll appreciate anything. I’m not that type of man, and he’s too perfect for that!” Ryu asserts, dropping his chin onto his work desk and throwing the arm that isn’t holding a phone in front of his faceーuntil he isn’t and is, instead, sitting up straight and straining his ear even though no sounds are coming from the other line. “Wait. Did you just say ‘paper anniversary’?”

 

*

 

On the afternoon of the very special day, Chikara is nothing but elated. He’d woken up extra early that morning to prepare a one-of-a-kind breakfast, something Ryu was very quick to cry about the moment he saw, and despite the frustrating lack of the element of surprise, he was able to unveil his gift adequately, presenting it with a flourish and another box of tissues.

"This is why I married you," Ryu had wailed in between sniffles, and Chikara could only smile as he loudly blew his nose.

It was a whole bunch of terrible dancing to terrible music after that, and once they’d gotten lunch out of the way, Ryu had dutifully sent him out to ‘go get pampered’, so that he might have time to redecorate the house for _his_ gimmick and ultimately wow his husband with his creativity.

Chikara could only comply, naturally, but pampering alone on a day for two isn’t quite his style. Instead, he heads over to the appliance repair shop, the one they’d sent their toaster to three months after moving in, their dryer the day after the wedding, and their bedroom electric fan just last week (to name a few). The repairs had finished yesterday, apparently, and Chikara figures an additional surprise to bring home wouldn’t be so bad.

“Congratulations! Wow, I didn’t realize you two had been together for so long,” Hirayama, who’s been saving the lives of their appliances for years now, says right after Chikara relays the big news.

“Yeah, me neither. It’s like time just went by,” Chikara says.

“And here you two are: him breaking appliances, and you having them repaired.” It would sound absurd if it were anyone else, but it’s Chikara’s reality, and the amusement on Hirayama’s face makes him laugh anyway. “It’s pretty amazing, actually. If you hadn’t told me the first time, I never would have guessed. You two are like polar opposites. What’s your favourite thing about Tanaka-san, Ennoshita-san?”

He remembers pausing, cocking his head to the side in an effort to respond, but not much else. He brings that question with him from the moment he steps away from the counter and all the way up to the streets. He’s always been told that; Ryuunosuke’s personality is leagues away from his. It had sparked a lot of conflict in their early days: _you two are never going to last, you’re too different, your boyfriend is so annoying,_ and yet here he is, happily married to said annoying boyfriend for a good year, bringing home their first broken electric fan and completely okay with that.

He’s so deep in thought that his feet move on autopilot, and by the time he remembers he was supposed to give his husband time to prepare tonight’s activities, he’s already opening the front door and laying his eyes on one of the messiest displays he’s ever seen: the walls, the curtains, the furniture, the carpet, Ryu’s person, the _ceiling_ ーall filled with one thing:

Paper.

A week’s worth of repairs goes up in smoke when the electric fan falls to the floor.

"What," Chikara begins, " _what_ is going on?"

"Chikara!” Ryu doesn’t sound mad; only surprised. “Why are you home so early? I haven’t texted you yet!"

"Oh. Oh, shit, sorry. I’m really sorry, butー" Chikara stares incredulously at the properly laid out paper plates on the dining table, directs the same stare at Ryu. "What are you doing?"

He has a flower crown made out of orange coloured paper on his head. "I told you I’d redecorate the house," he simply says, and oh god, he wasn’t joking? "It’s a paper anniversary, like what they call it in America. That means there’s gotta be lots of paper, right? Hmm. I wasn’t done but I guess we can start early. Surprise! Happy anniversary! Here, you get a crown too. Put it on."

Chikara can’t breathe.

Ryu circles a blue crown around his head anyway, grins at him and then at his own handiwork. “Bet you didn’t expect this. I’ve been preparing for the last two weeks! Did research and everything. We’re gonna do lots of paper-related stuff, oh boy, get excited!"

Neither the words nor the stack of what is undoubtedly origami paper on their coffee table is quite enough to get Chikara to react. No, what gets him is a vague mental image, one of Ryu feverishly scrolling through Google, at work or late at night, clicking link after link, each one a variation of the title, ‘Fun things to do with paper’.

And then he laughs.

His voice comes out louder than he wants it to, his eyes squeeze themselves shut, his stomach cramps within seconds and he coughs and clutches at it out of desperation, and in the back of his mind and the core of his heart, he realizes:

He and Ryu are different. He’s sensible and rational with a witty sense of humour while Ryu is brash and loud and a sort of funny that’s almost dumb and that Chikara can never hope to achieve. Ryu breaks appliances, Chikara has them fixed. Chikara makes breakfast and presents a gift, Ryu makes a mess and misinterprets an American label.

But Chikara realizes it’s his favourite thing about them. He makes a note to tell Hirayama that when he returns to have the fanーwhich he’d broken this timeーrepaired for the second time within the month.

All of that for later, though. Right now, Chikara feels like his lungs have burst, and his husband is looking at him like _he’s_ the weirdo in the situation.

It warms his heart. "I don’t deserve you," Chikara says, wiping his eyes clear of tears with contestable origins.

"What? Don’t say that. Here, want some water?"

He drinks the water up with a smile that only broadens when he sees the concerned look on Ryu’s face as he watches. Chikara nearly chokes on his last swallow when a single bubble of laughter erupts from his throat, but he’s fine. He sets the water down and doesn’t wait for any words, pulls Ryu into a tender embraceーthe thousandth one that day, but not any less endearing.

"I love you."

"Love you too," Ryu responds, "but why are you laughing?"

Another giggle escapes Chikara and he pulls away, stares at all the paraphernalia laid out in the living room. "Just thinking about the look on your face later when I own you at origami."

"Whatーhow the hell do you own someone at origami?"

“You’ll see.” Chikara makes a show out of flexing his fingers, and Ryu eats it up, wildly grins.

“Oh, it’s  _on,_ Chikara. I’m gonna make you the best fucking paper crane of your life, and you’re gonna _love_ it.”

“You’re gonna love what I make you more.”

“Bring it! Let’s tear this baby open.”

 

*

 

On the evening of the very special day, Chikara and Ryuunosuke have no no doubt that this is where they want to be.

**Author's Note:**

> [obligatory project synthesis post link](https://diecrotic.dreamwidth.org/33686.html)
> 
> || [tumblr](http://kakkoweeb.tumblr.com/) | [twitter](https://twitter.com/diecrotic) | [writing journal](https://diecrotic.dreamwidth.org/) | [instagram bc why not](https://www.instagram.com/diecrotic/) ||


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